Luxembourgian legislative election, 1919

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 26 October 1919. Voters elected all 48 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.

The election was the first held since the constitutional amendments passed on 15 May of the same year. [Thewes (2003), p. 76] The reforms had introduced universal suffrage and proportional representation, and vested national sovereignty in the people, as opposed to the Grand Duke. They were also the first election held after the German occupation during the First World War.

Not only was the election held under a modern system, but the election saw the beginning of conservative dominance of Luxembourgian politics, finally ending seventy years of liberal dominance that had begun to crumble after the death of Paul Eyschen. With the constitutional reforms and the birth of the modern political order, the elections are considered the first in the modern political history of Luxembourg.

Results

The election was an overwhelming victory for the Party of the Right, led by Émile Reuter, the sitting Prime Minister. The 1919 general election was the only occasion in Luxembourgian history on which a party has held more than 50% of the seats (although it was repeated in the partial election of 1922). [Thewes (2003), p. 78] Reuter would maintain a coalition with the Liberal League for another two years, before forming the first single-party cabinet on 15 April 1921. [Thewes (2003), p. 77]

Footnotes

References

* cite web | url=http://www.chd.lu/fr/chambre/periodes/default.jsp | title=Périodes parlementaires | accessdate=2006-08-16 | publisher=Chamber of Deputies
* cite book | last=Thewes | first=Guy | title=Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 | url=http://www.gouvernement.lu/publications/download/gouvernements_1848_2.pdf | format=PDF | accessdate=2006-08-23 | edition=Édition limitée | date= | year=2003 | month=July | publisher=Service Information et Presse | location=Luxembourg City | id=ISBN 2-87999-118-8